Re: [APD] Re: ah supply reflectors

["S. Hieber" <shieber at yahoo_com>]

Flat white paint acutally works better than most
applications using aluminum. Important exceptions are the
highly polished and coated aluminum like the AHS reflectors
-- they can't be beat.

Sh
--- Wright Huntley <whuntley at verizon_net> wrote:

> Shiny aluminum looks great but stinks for reflecting
> fluorescent lights 
> (except for the far blue and UV).
> 
> The AH reflectors are shiny aluminum, but with a
> dielectric overcoating 
> that raises reflectivity dramatically from the original
> 85% that is 
> typical for pure aluminum. Roof flashing and other
> non-dead-soft alloys 
> are probably a worse.
> 
> The screwing you get with aluminum is probably worse than
> the simple 15% 
> loss, as quite a bit of useful light may involve hitting
> the reflector 
> more than once in most designs.
> 
> Hey, it is better than white paint, but not really a lot.
> The aluminum 
> tapes I have tried are quite a lot worse than plain
> polished Al, BTW.
> 
> If you want to line a hood I suggest you find some of the
> silvered mylar 
> materials that feature reflectivity well over 95%. 3M
> Silverlux was once 
> discontinued, but I still see variations on it for sale
> around the web.
> 
> Forget plain aluminum or aluminum tape, if you want
> efficiency. You can 
> likely do better with potato-chip bags or cut-up CDs.
> 
> Wright
> 
> PS. If I was using twin-tube T-5 CFs, I would not
> hesitate to buy the AH 
> reflectors. They are cheaper than anything I have tried
> that was 
> comparable, and a pretty decent optical design. [Not
> ideal for 
> single-tube T-8s tho.]
> -- 
> Wright Huntley - Rt. 001 Box K36, Bishop CA 93514 -
> whuntley at verizon_net
>                        760 872-3995
> 
> ...frontier society offered 'the most civilized type of
> association' 
> because it had 'the absolute minimum of external
> regulation' and 
> therefore 'the maximum of voluntary civility and
> morality.'
>        ------ Isabel Paterson
> 
>                 http://www.libertarianism.com/
> 
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=====
Christel Kasselmann, 
author of the best current authoritative text on aquatic plants 
will be a featured speaker at 
The Northeast Council of Aquarium Societies 30th Annual Convention.
March 18-20, 2005 at the Marriott Hotel, Farmington, CT
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